Born to Reform
A month or so ago I finished reading Christopher Hitchens last book, and his last words written, Mortality. Chapter 2 he focuses his attention on his impending death and the role religion plays. More specifically and interestingly he discusses his interaction with different pastors, one being Douglas Wilson. As I read I felt the constant need to gasp for breath. It was painful to read the words of a man contemplating death and being completely oblivious, blind and hard hearted towards God. He spends a section of chapter 2 discussing Calvinism where he writes:
It seems doubly absurd for a Calvinist to take an interest in divine intercession. The founding constitution of the Presbyterian Church famously proclaimed from Philadelphia that “by the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestined unto everlasting life and others fore-ordained for everlasting death… without any foresight of faith or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions.” Plainly put, this means that it does not matter whether you try to lead a holy life, or even succeed in doing so. Random caprice will still determine whether or not you receive a heavenly reward. In these circumstances, the emptiness of prayer is almost the least of it. beyond that minor futility, the religion which treats its flock as a credulous play-thing offers one of the cruelest spectacles that can be imagined: a human being in fear and doubt who is openly exploited to believe in the impossible. In the argument over prayer, then, please do not be shocked if it is we atheists who wear the pitying look as any moment of moral crisis threaten to draw near.”
As I read Hitchens trying to understand the gospel, my heart broke. Throughout his life (and it shows in this book), he only saw a part of the picture. It reminded me of the state we are all in from birth and what the Lord does for his people as stated in Ezekiel 36:26-27
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
I wish Hitchens’ explanation of the founding constitution of the Presbyterian Church read more like this:
Plainly put, it doesn’t matter how much we try, we will never be able to live a perfect life, we are sinful beings and we deserve death. But God in his goodness sent his son as a sacrifice, absorbing the wrath of God and in love he chose to save his people, not because of anything he foresaw in them, but unconditionally he chose to remove their heart of stone and he gave them a heart of flesh. Now because of the new life they have been given they want to in everything bring glory to God. They don’t have to pray that God might have mercy on them, rather God has had mercy on them and now out of thankfulness, love and joy they want to pray! In other words, grace mobilizes performance; performance does not mobilize grace.
That is good news and it’s the kind of news I hope and wish for each one of you to believe, accept and live.
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